A thought on faith

I've been reading this book called Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert and there is a particular passage that stood out to me today. She is discussing her search for God and the part that faith plays in that search and her words rang true with me. I have had multiple "faith conversations" with seemingly the same result. That faith is not rational. Faith is believing without proof. Faith is all of this, but not a satisfying answer to the rational mind. I still cling to faith in different aspects of my life and in my search for the divine, but I really like the way she describes it. "There is a reason we refer to "leaps of faith"--because the decision to consent to any notion of divinity is a mighty jump from the rational over to the unknowable, and I don't care how diligently scholars of every religion will try to sit you down with their stacks of books and prove to you through scripture that their faith is rational; it isn't. If faith were rational, it wouldn't be---by definition---faith. Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch. Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark. If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be ... a prudent insurance policy." (chapter 57;pg 175)

I guess there is something unsafe about leaving rational thought behind. It leaves so many unanswered questions, so many ways to go wrong. I supposed that is part of the allure of taking the leap.

I wish I could jump. I should be the perfect candidate for this type of foolishness. I'm not the worlds most rational person. I don't live a strictly analytical existance, constantly over analyzing the mechanics of life. I usually just fly by the seat of my pants and let my emotional self make the decisions. Admittedly it can sometimes it feel like having a two year old at the wheel who is solely driven by dreams of lollipops and cheesecake, constantly swerving into oncoming traffic because she's been distracted by something shiny. Yet, still I hesitate and am skeptical. Maybe there is supposed to be a balance between the two. Faith makes up where rational thought fails. Maybe I need to slow down, concentrate more, not be afraid to let go of skepticism when the time is ripe.